The Pulitzer Prize citation states that Dominick won “for examining in a clear, indignant voice, free of cliché or sentimentality, the damaging consequences for poor Iowa residents of privatizing the state’s administration of Medicaid.”
The Register invited Iowans to share the experiences they have had with Medicaid under privatized management, which allowed Dominick to put a human face on denials of care, loss of access to services, and providers going out of business because they were not being reimbursed by for-profit insurers.
Other editorials decried state lawmakers’ efforts to impede fetal tissue research and said the Trump administration’s handling of the Affordable Care Act was jeopardizing access to coverage.
Speaking to a crowd of Register employees who raised glasses of champagne to toast her, Dominick said she was in shock at the win.
Dominick called health care “a passion of mine” and said she was honored to be recognized for her work on such an important topic.
“It’s such an honor to be recognized for the whole paper’s work on Medicaid and ensuring Iowans have access to health care,” Dominick said. “And we’ll continue to work to make Iowa a better place to live.”
Register Executive Editor Carol Hunter echoed that sentiment, calling the paper’s work on health care coverage and Medicaid in particular “a team effort” driven by strong investigative reporting.
But Dominick’s editorials are also driven by her own research and reporting, Hunter said, calling the win “a real credit to her work ethic and her journalism credentials.”
“She does so much original reporting to inform her editorials,” Hunter said of Dominick. “She has long made health care a subject of study and research. These editorials reflect her in-depth knowledge of the subject and how much she cares about access to good health care for all Iowans.”The effects of Iowa’s Medicaid privatization will continue to be a focus of the Register’s reporting and editorial writing, Hunter said, adding that she hopes the prize will focus more attention on health care in Iowa.
– Des Moines Register